Nissan has been clear that the Nissan Leaf will keep on improving. Exactly how much cheaper the next-gen battery in future versions of the Leaf will be is still carefully protected information, but Nissan Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn is making sure that everyone knows a lower-cost Leaf will be here, and soon. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Ghosn said, "There is a second generation of battery coming (online) now...which is less costly than the previous one. We are in a race in which you reduce the costs and adapt the price." Let's see if Nissan will be as proud to come in second to Tesla in this particular competition.

Nissan isn't the only automaker looking to reduce the price of plug-in vehicle batteries – Okay, pretty much every OEM with a plug-in program is trying. GM, for example, is investing in Envia on packs that, potentially, could move a $20,000-car up to 300 miles per charge.